The Italian Raffaele Fitto has begun his appearance before the European Parliament to obtain his approval as vice president and commissioner of the next EU Executive with a profession of pro-European faith: “I am not here to represent a party or a Government, but to reaffirm my commitment to Europe.” He sought to quickly dispel the doubts that exist about his adherence to European values due to his affiliation, the ultra-conservative Brothers of Italy party, and his origin, Minister of EU Affairs in the Cabinet of Giorgia Meloni. These attributes have made the decision of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to give Fitto a vice presidency in the next Community Executive into one of the most controversial and contested in the European Parliament, despite having a long previous career in Italian Christian Democracy, before joining Meloni’s party.
With Fitto – and in parallel with the appearance of the Estonian Kaja Kallas in another room to be examined as a high representative of the EU Foreign Policy – this session began at nine in the morning. super tuesday which will conclude at night with the revalidation of the Spanish Teresa Ribera as first vice president of the community Executive. The three of them, plus the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, the Romanian Roxana Minzatu and the Finnish Henna Virkkunen, will be the six vice presidents of the next European Commission if the parliamentarians ratify it. Although there are two components of this sextet that attract the most attention: Fitto and Ribera.
The Italian ultra, from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, has voted, in the not too distant past, as an MEP, against the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which ironically he has ended up managing in his country as Minister of European Affairs. He has said about that vote that then it was a different time and now he would rule in a different direction. He also rejected the European Parliament’s statements against violations of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland and, once again, has heard the reproach for this.
The Italian’s intervention began with some words of regret and solidarity for the floods in the Valencian Community, something that the candidates have been repeating in all or almost all of their appearances and that has been very present in many questions during these days. He then went on to break down his ideas and his career, which also includes being president of Apulia and minister of Regional Affairs and Territorial Cohesion with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
In her exam, Kallas, until a few months ago Prime Minister of Estonia and one of the clearest voices against the Kremlin and its colonial war against Ukraine, has faced questions from the extreme right and some MEPs from the left, such as Irene Montero, about what victory in that conflict, and peace, is. “Everyone wants peace, but there is peace and peace. We want sustainable peace,” he said. The person designated as High Representative for Foreign Policy has also warned: “The world is on fire, so we have to stay united.” Due to his history, Kallas has focused on Vladimir Putin’s war, but after questions from legislators he assured that the Middle East conflict is also one of his great priorities.
The new Commission has undoubtedly turned towards the east and that may cause it to lose focus even more on other areas, such as Latin America. Kallas defended this Tuesday that the trade agreement with Mercosur must be closed now. “If we do not sign a trade agreement with them, then this vacuum will be filled by China,” he remarked.
Great test for Ribera
The turn of Ribera, the third Spanish vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, will begin at half past six in the afternoon. It is expected to last for three hours. The Spanish woman, the key piece of the social democrats, has been appointed as vice president for the Just, Clean and Competitive Transition and in charge of the powerful Competition portfolio; It is the second most important position in Brussels after that of President Von der Leyen.
The socialist faces the challenge of advancing the green transition and also of dealing with and controlling the digital technology giants, boosting the burdened European competitiveness in the face of the push from the United States and China. But he faces a tough test from MEPs. Some conservatives are weighed down by his green resume and the Spanish Popular Party has been maneuvering in Brussels against his appointment, arguing that he was responsible for the management of the damage that has devastated the Valencian Community.
In principle, it was planned that the first attempt at parliamentary ratification of the vice presidents being examined this Tuesday would be made after each appearance. But now the option is opening up for this first attempt, which requires the support of two-thirds of the spokespersons of the groups of the commissions in which each session takes place, to be done jointly at the end of the day or during the sessions. following, according to sources from the parliamentary groups. It is also very likely that the ratification of Hungarian Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi will be included in this package, the only one who has not yet obtained parliamentary approval of the 20 who appeared last week.
This change of plans shows the distrust that exists between political groups. The European social democrats do not trust that the popular ones will support Ribera due to the intense pressure from the Spanish PP, which has pointed its bow against Ribera, an attitude that contrasts with the quiet support of the Italian socialists for Fitto. The ultra-conservatives of ECR, the political family of Fitto and Meloni, fear that the Italian will have difficulties despite having the support of the European People’s Party (EPP); The liberals want to ensure the ratification of theirs (Séjourné and Kallas), and the EPP strives to demonstrate every day that in this legislature it is the largest group with the most power and is willing to set the pace at its will.
Above all this is the desire of the president of the Commission, a German conservative, to have her Executive ready “as soon as possible” and without any problems. That is why he puts pressure, first on his in-laws, but also on others. And that is why he has chosen to adapt his entire agenda to what is happening in the European Parliament, canceling several commitments. Aware that Donald Trump’s return to the White House is a considerable challenge for the Union, with two wars in her neighborhood (the Middle East and Ukraine), Von der Leyen wants her second term to begin on December 1, without delays. .
